My Place or Yours
by gawilliams
Summary: Bones ponders as to why they are spending more time at Booth's apartment than they used to.


_Has anyone ever wondered why or how habits and patterns form in our daily lives? I have on any number of occasions as I go about my own routines and interact with people. I've been noticing something during this fourth season of Bones and as a result this short piece occurred to me when I was watching an episode on the internet this morning. I hope you all enjoy it. I am concurrently working on the next chapter of The List which will be posted sometime tonight, or tomorrow morning. Gregg._

_Disclaimer: I don't own, or profit from, these characters or franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

Bones was fairly sure of what Booth was saying when he made a general gesture of intent when he said that "this" is worth it. A warm feeling of safety, and security, swept through her as she took another drink of her beer, and eyed the ice cream, which, despite her usual disparagement, had been good. The reason for those feelings, and enjoying the ice cream, she was reluctant to admit, was the person sitting across from her. It was then that she realized what had been gradually happening for several months. Ever since the incident with Jared, she was forced to concede.

For some time now, they had taken to spending a lot of their evenings together at his apartment, and even a good portion of the days when they were off work. In the past, unless she had a "guest" for the evening and night, they had spent that time at her place. She hadn't had any "guests" since she had been dumped by the two boyfriends, and while her biological imperatives were desirous of some attention, she hadn't had any real desire to seek out some willing man for that purpose. Instead she wanted to spend her time with Booth. After her unconscionable treatment of Booth when Jared had so easily manipulated her perception of the best friend she'd ever had, she had had a compulsion to spend time with him, and try to repair the damage she'd done. The damage had been repaired some time before, but she'd still felt that same compulsion. Now it was out of want of his companionship. In addition to that, she was starting to realize some of what made them such great friends.

Booth was the perfect person for her to identify with. He had, like anyone, his demons, but he had overcome and flourished in his chosen avocation. Her demons, while not of the level of personal guilt that his occupied, were deep and personal as well. She had overcome, in a different way, and flourished as well. They could talk to one another, and with Booth's empathy, and her logical, empiricist way of looking at things, they were able to understand the world around them in a way that most could not. She learned from him, and being a person who appreciated learning and knowledge to such a high degree, she was drawn to him. He had told her any number of times that she was his best friend and his only partner. She believed that it was because she didn't try to change him. She argued with him, debated ideas with him, but she accepted him as he was. Maybe he could try eating healthier foods, or other trifling concerns, but she never tried to change _who_ he was.

And that brought her to her inner question. Why his place? Why not hers like in the past? Had it been a conscious decision on their part, or something unconscious? That latter disturbed her as she didn't like the lack of conscious control that it hinted at. Did she mind being at his place? She could categorically say that she didn't mind being here at all. She had never been able to say that about being at a mans home in the past. That was why most of her sexual rendezvous' had been at her own home in her own bedroom, or living room, or any room that struck her fancy for some sexual pleasure. Taking in the surroundings of Booth's somewhat masculine apartment, she concluded that if they ever progressed to the point where they began a sexual relationship, she would be comfortable engaging in such activities here, as well as her apartment.

She firmly closed off those thoughts. They had been getting closer since she had hurt him during that awful time when she met Jared, and she didn't want to move herself too quickly in the direction she had been desiring from quite a long time. She had to be ready, and while she knew that Booth, by his actions and continuing presence and support in her life, was ready, she was not quite there. But she could make some small steps in the right direction.

"Booth?" she asked.

"Yeah, Bones?" he responded, swirling the melting ice cream after he took another drink of his beer.

"Would you have dinner with me tomorrow?" she asked him, knowing that he would understand that she was talking about dinner in and not at the diner or Founding Fathers, or Wong Fu's.

"My place or yours?" he asked with his best charm smile in place.

Bones felt that warm feeling flow through her once again. Booth's friend was right, she concluded. It was very much worth the risk to become so attached to a person. One more step closer had been achieved in her mind. She also knew what her answer to his question was going to be.

"Yours," she told him. The change in his smile told her that she'd said something good. It had morphed from his charm smile to his warm "All is right in our world" smile that she also loved. She looked inward and saw that not many more steps were needed to finally have caught up with her reality. Then instead of "My" or "Your" in front of "place" it would be "OUR place". She'd stopped taking care of her biological imperatives after the two boyfriends fiasco, and she'd steadily focused her attention on Booth after the incident with Jared. Now she was going to focus her attention on making a future that would tear down the last of her walls and leaning on the one person that had never let her down for the support that everyone needed at times. "And Booth? You're right. It is all worth it," she told him with a smile. Sometimes a leap of faith was necessary, as much as it went against her empiricist approach to life. This time she made a leap of faith by coming to the conclusion that it didn't matter why they spent more time here. What mattered was that they were somewhere together.

_A/N: Very short and introspective, but I wanted a story that delved into the thoughts of Bones about being at his place more and more that we've seen this season. I hope that everyone enjoys it. Let me know. Gregg._


End file.
